In urinary bladder carcinoma – colloquially called bladder cancer – (synonyms: Bladder carcinoma; Bladder wall carcinoma; Urinary bladder carcinoma; Urinary bladder malignancy; Urinary bladder sarcoma; Urinary bladder malignant tumor; Metastatic bladder carcinoma; Transitional cell carcinoma of the bladder; Transitional cell carcinoma of the urinary bladder; Urothelial carcinoma; Transitional cell carcinoma of the bladder; Transitional cell carcinoma of the urinary bladder; ICD-10-GM C67.-: Malignant neoplasm of the urinary bladder) is a malignant (malignant) neoplasm in the area of the urinary bladder wall.
About four percent of all occurring carcinomas in humans are urinary bladder carcinomas. More than 90% of cases histologically present with urothelial carcinoma (transitional cell carcinoma), but some cases may be adenocarcinoma or squamous cell carcinoma (5%).
Frequency of urothelial carcinomas according to their location in the urinary tract:
| Localization | Proportion of uroepithelial surface area (%). | Frequency of uroepithelial carcinoma (%). |
| Renal pelvis | 4 | 4,6 |
| Ureter | 3 | 2,9 |
| Urinary bladder | 93 | 92,5 |
Trend: upper tract urothelial carcinoma (UTUC), or renal calices and upper ureters, is increasing.
Urinary bladder carcinoma can be non-muscle invasive (confined to the mucosa) or muscle invasive and metastatic. At the time of diagnosis, approximately 70% of all bladder cancers first diagnosed are non-muscle invasive bladder cancer (nMIBC) and approximately 30% are muscle invasive bladder cancer (MIBC).
Sex ratio: higher in males than females after age 25; male to female ratio is 2.5: 1.
Peak incidence: the disease occurs predominantly in older age – with an incidence peak above 70 years.
The incidence (frequency of new cases) in men is approximately 35.7 cases per 100,000 population per year and in women approximately 11.1 cases per 100,000 population per year (in Europe). Worldwide, the incidence is 23 in men and 7.4 in women per 100,000 population per year.From the eighth decade of life, the incidence of disease is 200 per 100,000 population. Course and prognosis: The earlier urinary bladder carcinoma is detected, the better the chances of cure. Carcinoma of the urinary bladder often grows rapidly infiltrating the detrusor vesicae muscle and metastasizes to iliac lymph nodes (and obturator fossa). The tumors are multilocular (“in multiple locations”) in about 50% and about 70% are on the posterior wall of the bladder. Superficial carcinoma of the bladder (superficial bladder carcinoma) is easily treatable. 75% of patients have non-muscle invasive bladder carcinoma (NMIBC) at the time of diagnosis, while 25% have muscle invasive carcinoma (MIBC) or metastatic disease (presence of daughter tumors). The recurrence rate is up to 85%. Therefore, consistent follow-up is very important to detect the recurrence early. The mortality rate (number of deaths in a given period, based on the number of the population in question) is approximately 14%.
The 5-year survival rate is 64-96% for noninvasive tumors.
